Kenyan parliament supports Haiti mission in spite of legal dispute

Kenya’s government wants to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti to help stop the fighting between gangs. Kenya’s parliament has agreed to this plan.

This is happening even though a court said they can’t do it until they finish looking into the plan.

Lawmakers who disagreed with the government’s decision spoke out against the vote, but the ruling party, which has the most members, supported the government after a heated discussion.

Haiti asked other countries for help to deal with increasing crime.

Kenya’s proposal was accepted by the UN Security Council last month, but the main opposition party is against it.

About 300 groups of people who work together to do illegal things are causing problems in Haiti. Almost all of the main city, Port-au-Prince, is being controlled by these groups.

These groups have gained more power in the city since the president of Haiti was killed in 2021 and the country became chaotic politically.

At the vote on Thursday in Kenya’s parliament, lawmakers who supported the motion said that the country is part of the world and should not ignore the calls for help from other countries.

They also said that the East African country has a history of helping keep peace in places like Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Parliament agreed to the plan by vote just before the High Court was set to start hearing the case about the deployment.

The Thirdway Alliance party is against the plan because they think it breaks the rules. They believe only the military should be sent to other countries.

The government said no to the argument and is standing up for itself in court.

The court said again that the soldiers couldn’t go until the case was finished.

The judge will make his decision in January.

Charles Midega, who is the legal spokesperson for Thirdway Alliance, said to the BBC that it was bold for parliament to talk about sending troops even though there was a court order against it.

In the parliament, lawmakers who are not in the ruling party said that they shouldn’t vote on something that is currently being decided by the courts.

However, lawmakers from the ruling party said that parliament can debate the issue as long as they focus on the main points of the case.

Kenya’s top opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has spoken out against the planned deployment before.

“Before you go to Africa, Haiti is really close to the United States, which is the strongest country in the world. ” Why did Kenya get picked to lead the multinational force in Haiti.

Kenya’s President Willim Ruto supports the plan because he thinks Africa wants to help Haiti be free and safe.

The US has promised to give $100 million to help with the mission, and Canada will also provide money.

During a trip to Kenya in September, the US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, signed a five-year security agreement. He also thanked Kenya for its leadership in dealing with security issues in the region and worldwide.

Some people in Kenya think that Mr. Ruto and his government should focus on solving security problems in the country.

Rights organizations, like Amnesty International, are worried about the Kenyan police using too much force in the past few months.

The man known as the father of Kenyan literature, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, has criticized the planned deployment. Last month he said tearfully, “If you know the history of Haiti, any black person would not do that. ”

Haiti was the first country with a black leader in 1804, when Gen Toussaint Louverture led enslaved people in a rebellion.

This made France very angry because they made a lot of money from Haiti’s plantations. They made Haiti pay a lot of money to the people who used to own slaves for over 122 years.

The US took control of Haiti from 1915 to 1934, by sending in soldiers and government officials.

In 1994 and 2004, the US military got involved in other countries to protect democracy and bring back stability.